Cooking Crafty Clothing from Pinterest

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With the holiday season here, I thought this week I would try and do something festive. Pinterest has a million fun Christmas projects to choose from so it was a tough decision on what to pick. Painted wine bottles are something easy and cheap to create so I thought I would attempt to do it. I got inspired by a few different pins I found and thought I would combine a few styles.

I loved the sparkle of these wine bottles and how “Christmasy” it looked. So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought glitter spray paint in silver and gold. They happen to have a sale going on for 30% off so I got each bottle for only $5!

I have also always wanted to try and use chalkboard spray paint so I thought I would combine the glitter from the top picture with this version of the chalkboard paint below.

I already had leftover wine bottles at my house that my roommates and I finished (and don’t worry we are all of age :)). The chalkboard paint was also on sale for $4 so I only spent about $16 total! I also bought primer to spray on the bottles first.

Priming the bottles went smoothly but when I moved on to the glitter paint, my spray cans stopped working half way through.

So this project turned out to be a fail….but only for now. I really want to redo this because it is still easy and I loved the way it started to look. If your going to try this please don’t get discouraged by my mishap. I believe it is possible!

Supplies I used:

3 wine bottles

Warm soapy water (to take off wine labels)

2 cans of glitter spray paint (silver and gold)

White primer spray paint

Old newspapers or any sort of covering for surface you will be painting on

Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy Holidays! Stay tuned for my corrections and let’s hope it turns out right the second time!

Does anyone else have any fun holiday crafts they are trying out? I’d love some more ideas to add to my Christmas board!

This week I wanted to make something that was warm and comforting since it’s getting a little chilly here in Wisconsin. I’ve always wanted to make homemade macaroni and cheese so I figured this was the perfect time. There’s a million recipes on Pinterest for mac and cheese but for some reason this one stuck out to me the most (probably because of the three different cheeses). This recipe is from the Food Network so I knew it had to be good.

The recipe was pretty easy to follow but of course I had a few set backs. With my limited college cooking supplies, I had to buy a cheese shredder to shred all the fancy cheese. I also had to borrow a bigger pot from a friend because this recipe was pretty big and could probably serve a whole family.

The end result was amazing. The mac and cheese was so ooey and gooey and so cheesy and I was very impressed it turned out as good as it did. Since the recipe yielded up to six servings, I had a few friends help me eat it all. They all said it was the best homemade macaroni and cheese they’ve ever had so I would definitely make it again.

Next time I would try and make it a little healthier though since the recipe may be little fattening, So I researched some alternatives you could substitue in. For the heavy cream, you could replace it with Greek-style yogurt, evaporated milk or sour cream. I would also use less butter.

Directions

In large pot filled with water add 3 pinches of salt and the macaroni and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and let cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Sprinkle flour over butter and cook 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat, whisking until a roux or paste forms. Add cold milk and whisk vigorously until dissolved. Cook sauce on medium-low heat until thick and bubbly. Add heavy cream, all cheeses, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper. Cook until cheeses are fully melted, stirring occasionally.

Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture and mix thoroughly. Place macaroni mixture in a 13 by 9 baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Top with fresh parsley and serve.

How many of you girls out there hate when your necklaces get tangled and it takes forever to untangle them? I know I do. Well you’re in luck because I found this great solution to solve that problem!

About a year ago, I found this pin on Pinterest and showed my sister. We both thought it was the coolest thing. Then on Christmas my sister bought me the towel rod and shower curtain hangers to put it together. Well since this blog has boosted my creativity and ambition I’m FINALLY putting it together (I know I’m a bad sister).

All there is to it is a towel rod and shower curtain hooks. It was pretty easy to step up but I needed my boyfriend to use the power drill because I wouldn’t trust myself doing it. All you had to do was follow the directions that the towel rod had to set up in its packaging. And that’s it! Easiest project ever.

Now since I didn’t actually buy any of it, I thought I would do a little research and find where to buy the cheapest supplies. Here is a pretty cheap towel rod I found at Walmart. I liked the matte finish that this one has rather than the brass or metal finish. You could also look at TJ Maxx, which I usually find pretty cheap house ware supplies there, or you could always look at Goodwill.

Now for the shower curtain hooks, these are the ones that I have from Target. But I also think these colorful ones from Walmart are really cute!

You can mix and match anything you that you find and for really cheap too! What do you guys think of this inexpensive DIY project? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Well this week I was REALLY craving crab cakes. I’ve never really had them until this summer and I fell in love! So I thought I would try to whip up some of my own. Well needless to say they didn’t turn out very well. But hey, oh well, I’m not an expert yet!

I found this great recipe for crab cakes on Pinterest of course and I will definitely have to try making it again. The recipe seemed really easy and had ingredients that I actually heard of. So I thought it was a good recipe to start with for a beginner like me. However, I think my major fail was the fact that I didn’t use actual crab meat. I used imitation crab which I thought would probably be the same… Well folks it’s not!

My advice for you all would be to find real crab! I went shopping at Festival Foods and probably should have asked if they had the real thing. Now I’ve learned my lesson for next time. But they kind of look good right?:)

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lump Crab Meat

2 Slices White Bread, crumbled, crust removed

1 Egg, beaten

2 tbsp. Mayo

1 tsp Seafood Seasoning (such as Old Bay Seasoning)

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp. Dried Parley Flakes

2 tsp. lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil or butter (for sauteing)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the crab meat in a bowl. Gently fold in crab meat and chill for one hour before forming into three ounce cakes.

Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter in the bottom of a medium skillet. Saute the crab cakes over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side, adding more olive oil or butter as needed.

This weekend I was really in the mood to dig my heels into a project. Something that I’ve really been interested in doing but never thought that I would have to time or patience to do. So as I was searching around on Pinterest I came across this easy do-it-yourself wall art that a fellow blogger did. It looked like something even I could do and I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.

So Friday I went to Hobby Lobby and bought all the supplies for a total of $14!

1 -16 x 20 canvas (the other blogger only 12 x 16 and I wanted a little bigger one) $7.99

1- 4 oz. grey acrylic paint 3.99

6 pieces of scrapbook paper $0.59 each (which was then 50% off when I checked out!)

Foam paint brushes $1.29

I already had a glue gun at home so I didn’t have to buy that. The directions also suggested using Mod Podge but I read in some of the readers comments that when they used it, it ruined the paint on the canvas, so I opted to not do it. I also used a little bit of black paint I had at home to mix with the grey to make it a little darker.

Steps

Paint canvas using the foam brushes. I suggest doing 2 coats.

Cut about a 2 inch strip from the bottom of each scrapbook paper. I really just eyeballed it because I didn’t want them too perfect.

Then cut those strips into 2-3 inch rectangles.

Start cutting at a corner of the paper making a curved cut to the opposite side. Then do the same on the other side of the paper.

Now you should have a leaf shape! Now repeat these steps making larger and smaller shapes.

Once you have a good amount, lay the leaves out on the dry canvas starting with the center circle and working your way out. ( I put my center a little off to the side like the other blogger did too)

As you lay them out, you may have to cut some of them down or make bigger ones. I started with smaller leaves in the center and bigger ones as I worked my way out.

Once you have a layout you like, start hot gluing the leaves down beginning from the center and working your way out again. Be sure to wrap the edges around when the leaves get to the end.

And that’s it! It took me about the length of watching the Packer game to do everything. So not too long! This is the final product! What do you guys think? Leave your comments or other cool projects you have done! Happy Crafting!

I love the traditional grilled cheese sandwich. It is my go to staple food for when I’m out of groceries, in a rush and have no time to cook a full meal or on a cold day served with a bowl of tomato soup. So when I started my Pinterest journey I was really into finding foods that were unusual and out of the ordinary. Earlier this year I randomly found a recipe for Guacamole Bacon Grilled Cheese that looked amazing and was dying to try! When I finally made it, it gave me a new outlook on the traditional sandwich and I began my search for other fancy grilled cheese sandwiches.

So I turned to my trusty site and found a ton of new recipes to try! My first fancy sandwich I wanted to try was a Parmesan Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese. The outside has a delicious parmesan crust with an inside of gooey mozzarella cheese and basil pesto. I love pesto and I never would have thought to make it in a grilled cheese. The finished product was scrumptious and something that I definitely would make again! The best part is that the recipe is only 3 easy steps and made with cheap ingredients!

Ingredients

2 slices ciabatta or French bread

1 tablespoon soft butter, for brushing the bread

2 slices mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons basil pesto

1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

I also found a little more of a challenging grilled cheese that I pushed myself to make and probably never would have made. This Spinach and Mushroom Grilled Cheese took a little more time and effort but was definitely worth my while. The sandwich is filled with mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and monetary jack cheese topped with Dijon mustard. The recipe also called for goat cheese but I thought I’d skip it to save a little money. This sandwich was pretty tasty as well but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the mustard in it.

Ingredients

1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

Olive oil

3 ounces (about 1/2 bag) spinach

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

3 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 slices whole wheat bread

Softened butter

Now these are only a few of the great grilled cheese sandwiches that I found. I also found a pin from the Food Network website that had 50 different grilled cheese recipes! Who knew there were that many kinds out in the world!

I’m Kari, a college student studying Journalism with an advertising emphasis. I love working with social media and learning new ways to interact with it like blogging! This is my first blog that I’m attempting to do and when I was thinking about what I should write about, I immediately thought about doing something that is new to the web. Pinterest is the newest social media site that I’ve been addicted to. I could go on here for hours and hours and never get bored. With all the different categories you can look at including, fashion, cooking, DIY crafts, photography and many many more, it is impossible to find something that you wouldn’t like.

So with this blog, I want to write mainly about the recipes, crafts, and fashion that I’ve said to myself “one day I’m going to do that,” but secretly thinking doing these things will probably never happen. This blog is going to boost my ambition and actually make that “one day” happen but on a college student’s budget. I want to try and make recipes that I’ve never thought I could make, develop my creative side with crafts, and discover new styles of fashion to rock.

My Pinterest boards are full of pins that I need to try so hopefully I can continue this blog for a long time. I tend to follow mostly friends to see what they are interested in but I also follow a few celebrities and other bloggers. If any readers would like to contribute to my new discoveries or have any recipes they recommend me to make, feel free to let me know!